The Permanent Council of the
Organization reports directly to the General Assembly and has the powers
assigned to it by the
Charter and the other inter-American instruments and the
functions entrusted to it by the General Assembly and the Meeting of
Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

The
Permanent Council keeps vigilance over the maintenance of friendly relations
among the member states and, for that purpose, effectively assists them in the
peaceful settlement of their disputes. It carries out those decisions of the General Assembly or of the
Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs the implementation of
which has not been assigned to any other body. It watches over the observance
of the standards governing the operation of the General Secretariat and, when
the General Assembly is not in session, adopts provisions of a regulatory
nature that enable the General Secretariat to carry out its administrative
functions. It acts as the Preparatory Committee. At the request of the member
states, it prepares draft agreements to promote and facilitate cooperation
between the OAS and the United Nations and other inter-American institutions.
It submits recommendations to the General Assembly with regard to the
functioning of the Organization and the coordination of its subsidiary organs,
agencies, and committees. It considers the reports of the organs, agencies,
and entities of the inter-American system and presents to the General Assembly
any observations and recommendations it deems necessary.

The
Permanent Council is composed of one representative of each
member state,
especially appointed by the respective government, with the rank of ambassador.
Each
government may appoint alternate representatives and advisers and, if
necessary, accredit an acting representative.

Chair and Vice Chair

The office of chair is held by
each of the representatives, in turn, following the alphabetic order in Spanish
of the names of their respective countries. The office of vice chair is filled
in the same way, following reverse alphabetic order. The terms run for three
months and begin automatically on the first day of the months of January,
April, July, and October.

Secretary of the Permanent
Council

The
Assistant
Secretary General of the Organization is the secretary of the Permanent Council and of
its subsidiary bodies and committees, as provided in Article 115 of the OAS
Charter.

Committees, Subcommittees, and
Working Groups

The permanent committees are
the General Committee, the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, the
Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs, the Committee on Hemispheric
Security, and the Committee on Inter-American Summits Management and Civil
Society Participation in OAS Activities. The Council may also establish such
special committees, subcommittees, and working groups as it deems necessary.

Meetings

The Council holds regular,
special, and protocolary meetings, in accordance with its
Rules of Procedure.